Insulated rail-joint.



J. P. WRIGHT. INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

I APPLICATION FILED OGT. 28,1914. I 1 124 989 Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

WITNESSES IN VEN TOR l, v A TTOR/VEVS I Jrztm P Wrighf I M I W J. P. WRIGHT.

INSULATED RAIL JOINT.

APPLICATION FILED 00 1:. 28, 1914.

I 1,124,989. Patented Jan. 12, 1915.

- 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

WITNESSES M/VE/VTOR A TTOR/VEYS tween the upper and lower'sections of the JOHN P. WRIGHT; or NEwAn'x, DELAWARE;

INSULATED RAIL-JOINT.

Specificatioh of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan."12 1915.

' Application filed October 28, 1514. Serial No. 868,972.

To allw hom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, JOHN P. WRIGHT, a

of Newark, in the county of New Castle and State of Delaware, have invented a new and Improved Insulated Rail-Joint, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

This invention relates to insulated rail joints anddeals, more particularly with the insulating plates that are interposed between the rail sections and thefish plates.

The invention has for its general object to improve the construction of the insulating plates' so as to be comparatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture,- of durable and substantial design, and whereby there is a material saving in insulating material.

A further object of the inventionis the provision of an insulating plate whichf-is capable ofadapting itself for rails of different weights so that it is necessary to have only one size of insulating plates forth various sizes of rails now in use. i

A further object of the invention is to provide an insulating'plate for rail joints whereby the parts subjected to the greatest wear maybe made of material vdifferent from the other part or-parts, whereby the lifedof the whole plate is materially lengthene In carrying. out the invention the insulating plate maybe rolled, molded or built up of laminae, the material employed'being any of the well-known substances having good insulating qualities as well as toughness and strength so as to withstand the wear to which it is subjected.

. The insulating plate comprises an upper section or. strip that is located between the upper edge ofthe fish plate and the under side of the head of the rail, and a lower or base section which is disposed between the bottom edge of the fish plate and-top surface of the rail base, the two sections being. connected together by a relatively thin strip or connecting portions integrally united with the upper and lower sections or made separate from the latter andsuitably fast ned thereto, the connecting portions beinsulating platev preferably being flexible so that the insulating plate can'be accommodated :-to rails of, different weights or sizes. 'Ilhe upper and lower, sections ofthe insulatingplate will 'be,made of the usualv citizen of the United States, and a resident thickness of material, butthe connecting strip or portion will be comparatively thin but strong enough to firmly hold the two main sections togethen. By making the insulatin' plate with a relatively thin web in its 'mi dle, the total amount of insulating material required for a plate will be greatly diminshed, and through this thin connecting web the bolts of the rail joints pass, so that when the plates are secured in place .the upper and lower sections cannot shift longitudinally, as is likely to, be the case when they are made separate.v The insulating plate will be made of such size as to fit the largest rails in use, and when the plates are applied to smaller rails the thin connecting web portion will be bowed more or less at the webs of the rail, and this bowing can take place, since there is'a space between the inner surfaces of the fish plates and the opposite surfaces of the rail web.

Since the insulating plates can be made of one size the cost of manufacture is greatly lessened, as a plurality of molds, dies, presses or the like will not be required, as

would be the case if the insulating plates were made of diflerentsizes.

With such objects in View, and others which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention comprises various novel .tion, and'wherein similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the, views, Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of insulating plate where the upper and lower sections thereof are integrally united by a thin flexible connecting web or' portion; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the inner face of an insulating plate in which the upper and lower sections thereof are united by a thin flexible connecting strip fastened to the said sections; Fig. 3 is a view of a further modified form of insulating plate where the upper and lower sections are connected by a plurality of flexible connecting pieces; Fig. 4 is a transverse section of a rail joint; Fig. 5 is a similar view showin the insulating plates applied to a lighter rai than that shown in Fig. 4; and Figs. 6 and! are detail sectional views of a rail-joint having modified forms of insulating plates.

- Referring toFig. 1 of the drawing, A des.

' ignates an insulating plate for a rail joint,

which plate comprises an upper section 1 and a lower section 2 united by a relatively thin connecting web 3, the sections 1 and-2 being so shaped, positioned and set as to fit respectively under the head of a rail and suitable process, and the sections 1 and 2 will be of the usual thickness of insulating plates for rail joints, while the connecting web 3 is comparatively thin, it being just thick enough to mechanically connect the partsl and 2 together with suflicient rigidity to. maintain the form of the insulating plate in the ordinary handlin or shipment thereof. By making the middIe portion 3 thin there is not only a. saving of material but such ortion will be flexible so that it can be owjed in order to bring the upper and lower sections 1 and 2 closer together, whereby the insulating plate can be fitted to rails of varying sizes. The connecting web portion 3 is provided with apertures 4 for. receiving the bolts of a rail joint, and since the bolts pass through the insulating plate in this manner there is no liability of *the plate shifting from its initial position.

In Fig. 4, B designates a track rail having a head 5, web 6 and base 7, and to opposite sides of the web are applied the insulating plates A with the portions 1 engaging under the head 5 and the sections 2 bearing on the base 7. After the insulating plates are applied the fish plates 8 are fastened in position by bolts 9 which pass through the fish plates,, openings 4 of the insulating plates and web 6 of the rails. It will be noted that the upper and lower edges bear against the thick portions 1 and 2 of the insulating plates, as it is here where'the insulating of v the fish plates from the rails is required,

and as these points of contact are subjected to wear the insulating plates are made thicker.

In Fig. 6 the thick portions 1 and 2 of the plates unite with the thin portion 3 directly at the bends 10, whereas in Fig. 4 the thick portions-pass beyond the bends, so that the .fish plates will be spaced somewhat out-. wardly from the web of the rail, and this space admits of the flexible connecting web portions 3 of the insulating plates being bowed outwardly,'as shown in Fig. 5, when the insulating plates are applied to rails of less hei ht than the rail shown in Fig. 4.

Fig. shows a modified form of insulating plate construction wherein the lower section 2 is continued under the web 7 of under support for the rails;

Instead of making the insulating plates all in one piece the upper and lower sections 1* and 2", Figs. 2 and 3, may be separate from each other and united by connecting means, such as the thin flexible strip 3, Fig. 2, or thin flexible pieces. 3", Fig. 3. By having the upper section 1 separate from the lower section 2 the former may be made of harder material than the latter, so as to more successfully withstandwear, as the oint of greatest wear between the parts of an insulated joint is the portion of the insulating plate between the head of the rail and the upper edge of a fish plate. The connecting pieces or strips. between the sections 1 and 2 may be cemented, riveted or otherwise securely fastened thereto.

- From the foregoing description taken in the advantages of the construction and method of operation will be readily understood by those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, and while I have described the principle of operation, together with the device which I now consider to be the best embodiment thereof, I desire to have it understood that the device shown is merely illustrative and that such changes may be made, when desired as are within the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent:

1. In a rail joint, the combination of rail parts to be fastened, fishplates, and bolts fastening the plates and rail parts together, with insulating plates inserted between the rail parts and fish plates, said insulating plates having relatively thick upper and lower portions connected by a relatively thin portion.

2. Inan insulated rail joint, the combination of rail parts, fish plates, and bolts connecting the rail parts and fish plates together, with insulating plates inserted between the rail parts and fish plates, said insulating plates having relativelythick portions between the edges of the fish plates and the head and base of the rail parts and also having a comparatively thin flexible connecting portion between the said thick portions, whereby the insulating plate can be applied to rails of diflere'nt sizes.

3. An insulating plate for railjoints having thick upper and lower sections united by a relatively thin flexible connecting portion, said connecting portion having apertures for receiving the bolts of the rail joint.

4. An insulating plate for rail joints, comprising upper and lower sections, one section being of harder material than the other, and flexible connecting means uniting the sections. 7

5. An insulating plate for rail joints, comprising upper and lower sections, one

1,124,989 w h a section being or harder material than the other, and a thin flexible section connecting the said upper and lower sections permanently. together. v

6. An insulating plate for rail joints, comprising upper and lower sections adapted to engage ahead and base of a rail, and. a connectm section thinner than and uniting the rst mentioned sections permanently together, said thin section having 10 bolt-receiving apertures.

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification in the presence of two snbscribing witnesses.

. JOHN P. WRIGHT; Witnesses:

. E. B.'WRIGHT," Y W. A. TIERNEY. 

